Hi. I'm new to the site but am desperate to hear what others have done to help. I was diagnosed a few months ago.with a partial tear of my right gluteus medius and origin of vastus lateralis. I'm a 38 year old nurse that is not into sports. My ortho/sports medicine doc wanted me to do therapy. I've tried cortisone injections,nsaids, and various topical creams with no help from the pain. Therapy was going good for about a month but now tonight I'm in horrible pain again. Has anyone noticed their pain increases with higher humidity? I really just want to be pain free again! Has anyone had the surgery to repair and if so is the pain gone? My surgeon is reluctant to do surgery and said it would be open though I have read it can be done endoscopically. Any help would be greatly appreciated. I'm so tired of hurting!

Iota

08-05-2012 05:01 PM

Re: partial gluteus medius tear

Hi, I'm also new to the site, having just been diagnosed via mri with gluteal medius and minimus partial tears. I was misdiagnosed as pain referred from spinal causes and so have had no relief from treatments. I can't offer help until I get some myself,but I offer empathy. I can only walk a short distance and used to be an active 70 yr old, even a tango dancer up until 2 yrs ago. I too am looking for info about repair surgery. From what I've read, it's rarely done and in its infant stages. If anyone knows of sports docs in Santa Fe or anywhere in Southwest, I'd be grateful to know. I hope you find someone too.

candyg920

10-21-2013 02:13 PM

Re: partial gluteus medius tear

I have had open surgery for a gluteus medius and gluteus minimus repair. There is not too much sense in putting off surgery, unless you think you can get better without surgery. Surgical repair of the tendons is not as rare anymore. Cortisone shots did not help me at all and I would not have another injection. I still have pain one year after surgery although surgery was successful. It is a difficult recovery and you have to keep exercising and walking. Stay committed to exercising.

Iota

10-21-2013 03:04 PM

Re: partial gluteus medius tear

I would be grateful to know where you had surgery. My own orthpedic surgeon has not offered surgery as an option, so I was thinking of applying for an appt at a major university Sports Med Dept, such as at Stanford U.

This kind of injury, I think, requires an aggressive patient to find a fix.

At 72, I'm not eager for a long recovery, however, so I too wonder if there is an endoscopic alternative. Steroid shots work for me for about 4 mos max.

thanks for advice and personal stories

candyg920

10-21-2013 06:38 PM

Re: partial gluteus medius tear

I had surgery in Wisconsin. These surgeries are on the rise. I had an orthopedice Sport Medicine Doctor do mine. They can be found in every state. You need an MRI or Ultrasound to verify what type of injury you have if you had not had one done yet. Endoscopic was not an alternative to me, and I understand it is not necessarily less painful either. You may need a bursectomy or some other procedure. I don't know. I suppose Standford would about it. I have met two surgeouns in this area who have done this surgery You should be able to find one in Sports Medicine.

mayor mary

10-29-2013 02:45 AM

Re: partial gluteus medius tear

I am having my torn gluteus medius repaired tomorrow(!) by Thomas Vail at UCSF. He comes highly recommended and I am optimistic about the potential outcome. At this point I feel like any pain or discomfort from the surgery will pale in comparison to the ongoing pain I've expereinced for close to five years. My local doctor treated this as bursitis and pumped me full of cortisone. As a result the tendon is not only torn by also badly atrophied.

One thing I learned on this journey is that diagnosis requires an MRI with adequate resolution. My first MRI was in an open imaging system and it turned out to be inconclusive. Lord knows the pain was real and far from inconclusive!

After the surgery I am looking forward to getting back to an active lifestyle where I can bike and garden and walk with ease. Best of luck to others who a struggling with this issue.

hopeless45

05-17-2015 06:50 PM

Re: partial gluteus medius tear

How are you now? Did you have the surgery? Was it a success? How long was recovery for you? How much pain were you in and for how long? Are you pain free now and are you able to walk, exercise and do things great now? Did you ever try PRP before you did the surgery? I'm suffering with gluteus medius tears on both hips and I'm really worried and have to do something. Who was your surgeon? Were you happy with him? Thanks, Lynn

hopeless45

05-17-2015 07:08 PM

Re: partial gluteus medius tear

[QUOTE=mayor mary;5237071]I am having my torn gluteus medius repaired tomorrow(!) by Thomas Vail at UCSF. He comes highly recommended and I am optimistic about the potential outcome. At this point I feel like any pain or discomfort from the surgery will pale in comparison to the ongoing pain I've expereinced for close to five years. My local doctor treated this as bursitis and pumped me full of cortisone. As a result the tendon is not only torn by also badly atrophied.

One thing I learned on this journey is that diagnosis requires an MRI with adequate resolution. My first MRI was in an open imaging system and it turned out to be inconclusive. Lord knows the pain was real and far from inconclusive!

After the surgery I am looking forward to getting back to an active lifestyle where I can bike and garden and walk with ease. Best of luck to others who a struggling with this issue.[/QUOTE]
How are you now? Did you have the surgery? Was it a success? How long was recovery for you? How much pain were you in and for how long? Are you pain free now and are you able to walk, exercise and do things great now? Did you ever try PRP before you did the surgery? I'm suffering with gluteus medius tears on both hips and I'm really worried and have to do something. Who was your surgeon? Were you happy with him? Thanks, Lynn

mayor mary

05-17-2015 10:48 PM

Re: partial gluteus medius tear

Hello, Lynn and others:

I just wrote a long response to your questions, but I guess the system logged me out because I was taking too long and in the end my response to you didn't post. Grrrr.....I'll start again.

I'm fine today after having the surgery 18 months ago with Dr. Vail, the Chair of Orthopedics at University of California in San Francisco (UCSF).

I live in a relatively small town (Chico, CA) and for several years our local orthopedic community treated my pain as bursitis using periodic steroid injections supplemented by Vicodin. My pain got so bad I was using a cane and not able to climb stairs. After a year of full-time teaching my symptoms were so bad my husband, who happens to be a retired eye surgeon from Berkeley, insisted I see someone outside of Chico at a university research hospital.

And that's how I met Dr. Vail who was recruited to UCSF from Duke where he helped to pioneer the surgery for gluteal tears. From there it went quickly. I had a very high resolution MRI and there was a very large tear. It took 6-7 weeks to get on the surgery schedule and I had the procedure in October of 2013, just over 18 months ago. My tear was very large so I had an open procedure.

It was quite an ordeal because I had to be totally non-weight bearing on the side that was repaired for six full weeks. I used a walker and was hyper-vigilant about not allowing myself to bear any weight. I was in a lot of pain and took both long and short acting Oxycontin for 6 weeks. After 8 weeks I started 12 weeks of PT with two days in the clinic and one day in a warm therapy pool.

I did not pursue any alternatives to surgery because my husband is both a classically trained surgeon and a skeptic. Once he saw the MRI of the tear, he believed surgery was the only solution that would be sustainable over time.

Today I am totally pain free and walk, ride my bike and swim regularly for exercise. I had developed a terrible limp which is now completely gone.

If you have the opportunity I would see a specialist at a research hospital in your region and be properly assessed and treated by a highly trained and qualified surgeon. I can't imagine having two tears. My heart goes out to you.

Blessings to you and please keep me apprised about your progress.

Warmly,
Mary Goloff

P/S Aboit 8 weeks post-op, just when I thought the worst was over, I caught my foot under the door of our bottom, pull-out freezer drawer and broke three bones in my foot - luckily on the other side of my body. It slowed my PT down some and I had to go back on pain medication, but in the end, I just had to accept that when life hands you lemons, you make lemonade.